Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1887-10-22

ton Of these fruits on very high priced
land, where irrigation is, for the most
part an absolute necessity, and from
which you have to travel by railroad from
1000 to 1000 miles TO find g
market? In answer to the question,
"Where is the profit from orange
culture in California;" The answer is,
s'it is in the Golfers of your Transports
ton companies" Theirs is the easy
money made in connection with fruit
growing in California, How can Cali
fornis think of competing with Florida in
the production Of oranges and lemons?
In California lands are very high; in Flor
ida they are comparatively cheap; in the
former you have to buy your water for
PURPOSES of irrigation; in the latter rains
from heaven supplies every demand; from
that fruit must be shipped to the princl-
pal markets by railroad alone, while from
this you may ship by competing lines of
roads, or by water to ell the principal
cities east of the Rocky mountains. With
such odds against California she can
never hope to compete successfully with
'sthe land of flowers" in the production
of these fruits. Happy for the msn who
contemplstes changing his Texas home
for home il California, if he will study
these fact thoroughly before he tries to
influence his wife to sign away the home
stead, and makes a move that will entail
with almost absolute certainty, a life of
hardship and poverty upon himself and
family. For the poor farmer there Is no
comparison between Texas and California.
The present "boom in real estate"
In California is nothing but the
outgrowth of shrewd manip-
ulation on the part Of INSCRIPTIONS
money sharks. They are lsboring for
high prices, regardless Of the interest OF
purchaser, or of humanity at large. They
can well sfford-in monied point Of
view-to pay the principal part OF the
Texans fare to California, and ithen give
him free rides over the country if they
can get one in ten of their visitors to buy
their lands!
II, however, any Texan thinks he can
live on climate and beautiful groves"
suppose you spend year there first.
Lands are not likely to grow higher in
that time. That will furnish you an
opportunity of looking into things before
you take the final leap. And if you should
finally purchase lands there, you will il
you travel around little, find lands that
you can purchase much cheaper for cash
than you would be likely to pay Ii you
purchase of the spectators. You will
find plenty Of men who are anxious %
sell; and you can purchase any sort Of a
place you wish for cash. And here let me
say, Never buy lands in that state unless
you can pay all down. The deferred pay
ments ruin thousands there. More than
this l will venture to suggest that the
most astute business man in Texas
would be poor match for the ordinary
land trader in California. He will wrap
"the eastern man" around his finger like
so much thread Should the luckless i'm
migrant fall into the hands of the old, ex-
perienced sharper, there will be little
hope for him.
There are some good people in Califor-
MIA, but there are more sharpers than can
| be found elsewhere for the same populs-
ton; there are more uncultivated rich
men, snd more educated poor men than
you can find elsewhere. One, perhaps, in
every hundred who goes to California
stumbles on fortune and is published to
the world, while the ninety and nine re-
main poor, or possibly lose what they
took with them, and, Of course, are I'M
known to the world.
1t seems to me that it is time the reat
of the world was finding out what this
Golden State is l suggest, Mr. Editor,
that it might be well for Texas to sp-
poiEt committee to visit California fol
the purpose of learning by careful in.
vestigation Just what California is good
for, and report especially with reference
to orange culture In Southern California
Such report might save much poverty
and suffering to many Texans who, il
they only knew the superiority of Texas
over California, would never leave their
present homes. Yours respectfully,
A S WoKRELL.